The LigerBots have released our annual safety animation video and have entered it into a competition for the 2018 FIRST Safety Animation Award. (See full post to view video.) These animated videos combine an educational message about safety with creative art and imagery. In January, judges at FIRST will pick the year’s best entry from among many submitted by FRC teams from around the world, and the winning video will be shown at every FIRST Robotics competition.

In order to follow the retro-1980s arcade theme of the 2018 FRC challenge we developed a story that combined safety principles with elements of our very own video game. After designing characters and scenery, we brought them to life with 3D animation. Finally, we added arcade style music and sound effects along with a voice-over narration to accompany the visuals.

The biggest challenge was fitting the story into only 40 seconds–the maximum video length according to the rules. Another challenge was the deadline, which forced us to make decisions fast and start the animation process as early as possible.

We are very proud of our unique result. We hope that our video will be chosen by FIRST and that it will have a lasting impact on the community by encouraging safe practices.

This Saturday Dec. 16 from 9-4:30 the LigerBots will will host the FIRST LEGO League Eastern MA State Championship at Newton North High School! This year’s game called Hydro Dynamics has a water based theme. The top 600 competing Massachusetts students in grades 4-8 will use LEGO robots they designed, built, and programmed themselves to compete and earn points by performing complex tasks. Alongside the competition there will be a maker fair with hands-on STEAM activities from organizations as wide-ranging as Microsoft, iRobot, orimagi.io, Green Newton, Empow Studios, Destination Imagination, New England Droid builders, the Newton Free Library, and a long list of others for all ages. There will be opportunities to see, touch, and drive robots built by high school students! Admission is free so bring your family and spend the day!

The LigerBots have had a busy week of technical training and preparation for the Eastern MA FLL State Championship, which we are hosting on Dec. 16 at Newton North High School.

Some LigerBots have recently learned to operate a computer numerically controlled (CNC) mill machine, which will allow the team to create more accurate parts that have curves. Our  improved quality of machining has given us the skill to make custom gearboxes.

The team has been focusing on mastering the ability to move a robot forward on the playing field no matter which way it’s facing (called field-centric control.)  We’ve also been able to test our first H-drive chassis, and have learned that we need better side-to-side mobility in our next design.

Team members have been presenting designs for a hypothetical robot game as practice for this coming build-season, and we have been training new team members to drive past years’ robots.

Some of our team members continue to build an electrical test bench that will allow us to check the function of electrical components of our robot, such as motors, sensors, and vision boards, before we use them.

In addition to all of this technical work, the LigerBots have been diligently preparing for the upcoming Eastern MA FLL State Championship, a FIRST LEGO League tournament the LigerBots will host at Newton North High School on December 16 from 9-3. Accompanying the competition will be a maker fair with hands-on activities for the entire family.  The event is free and open to the public.

On November 18 the LigerBots hosted the Newton Qualifier FIRST LEGO League (FLL) tournament, which brought 24 teams of students in grades 4-8 to Newton North High School to compete using LEGO robots they designed, built and programmed to perform 18 separate missions. The event was free and open to the public.

Also on display were student solutions to real world problems related to the water based theme for this year’s FLL game, which is called “Hydro Dynamics.”

Alongside the competition there was a maker fair with many hands-on activities for kids in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM). Among the exhibitors were Orimagi.io, the Massachusetts National Guard, Empow Studios, the Newton Free Library, the New England Section of the Optical Society of America, the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation with the New England Model Engineering Society and Einstein’s Workshop. This year’s event also featured “RoboPalooza,” a hands-on robot exhibit that included the Nutrons, a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team from Boston, and three FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams from the Needham High School Robotics Club.

The LigerBots’ two previous years of experience running the Newton Qualifier paid off, as the entire team came out to staff the event as judges, referees, guides, queuers, food handlers and DJs.  We were able to set up and bring Newton North back to its original, sparkling state in record time.  We hope our guests had as wonderful a time as we did!

The FLL Eastern MA State Championship will also be hosted by the LigerBots at Newton North High School, on December 16 from 9-3. Like the Newton Qualifier, it will be free and open to the public, with even more teams competing and more hands-on exhibits in the accompanying maker fair.

The LigerBots are hosting a FIRST LEGO League competition, the Newton Qualifier, on the theme of Hydro Dynamics at Newton North High School (457 Walnut St.), Saturday, November 18 from 9am -3pm. About 300 Massachusetts students in grades 4-8 will compete using LEGO robots they designed, built, and programmed to perform complex tasks. Alongside the competition there will be a maker fair with hands-on STEAM activities for all ages and opportunities to see, touch, and drive robots built by high school students! Bring your family and spend the day (free admission)!